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Tensions on the rise
Husband absent from search; family pleas for his polygraph

May 14, 2007
By Jennifer Golz Staff Writer
Tension might be surfacing between Craig Stebic and his missing wife's family.

Until now, Lisa Stebic's family has said they do not want to make any assumptions as to what has happened to the 37-year-old Plainfield mom who has been missing since May 1.

» Click to enlarge image

The Applebee's Grill and Bar in Plainfield distributed carnations to moms dining on Mother's Day. Each flower was tagged with a photo of Lisa Stebic, the Plainfield mother of two who has been missing since May 1.
Danielle Gardner / Staff photographer

ON THE WEB
• Visit findlisastebic.com for latest updates from her family and to post well-wishes.

• Take a look at The Sun's gallery of pictures from events this weekend at napersun.com.
She was last seen in the home she shares with her husband, Crag Stebic at 6 p.m. April 30, according to police reports. A neighbor reported Lisa Stebic missing the following day, May 1.

Lisa Stebic's car remains in the garage, but neither her cell phone nor credit cards have been used since her disappearance.

Family wants answers
For the first time, the family is publicly speaking out about the many unanswered questions they have.
During an on-air interview Saturday evening with Kimberly Guilfoyle of "The Line Up" on FOX News Channel, Melanie Greenberg of Naperville, Lisa Stebic's cousin and spokesperson for the family, said they want Craig "to take a polygraph" test and do anything he can to help.

Plainfield police have said Craig Stebic has been "cooperative" in their investigation thus far.

But last week Craig Stebic refused to take a polygraph test, under the advice of his divorce attorney. The same day he canceled the test, Craig Stebic also refused FBI agents entry into his home when they showed up on his doorstep Tuesday.

May 15, 2007
By Jennifer Golz Staff Writer
It may have been the last thing missing Plainfield mom Lisa Stebic ate before disappearing.

At least once a week for the past year since the store's opening, Stebic would stop at Jimmy John's, 12632 S. Route 59, Plainfield, for a Turkey Tom. The 8-inch turkey sub sandwich includes lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and alfalfa sprouts.

MISSING PERSON CASE
Deputy Plainfield Police Chief Mark Eiting said Monday that Stebic's disappearance officially remains classified as a missing person case. Police have "no new leads or anything at this point," he said. ON THE WEB

• Visit findlisastebic.com for latest updates from her family and to post well-wishes.

• Take a look at The Sun's gallery of pictures from events this weekend at napersun.com.
Stebic was at that Jimmy John's at about 2 p.m. April 30, the day the 37-year-old mother of two went missing.

"She was normal, just like any other day," manager Christine Muilenburg said. "There was no indication anything was wrong, at least from as far as we know her."

Stebic ordered her regular sandwich, talked about her children and said she was in a hurry, as she had errands to run before the kids retuned home from school that day, Muilenburg said.

"It was a mom conversation," she said.

The ladies who work the midday shift at Jimmy John's call themselves the "Desperate Housewives," as many of them are just like Stebic - moms looking for a part-time job while their children are in school.

Stebic is a lunchroom worker at Lincoln Elementary in Plainfield, a job that allowed her to be home in the afternoon to greet her children.

According to police reports, Stebic was last seen at 6 p.m. April 30 in the home she shares with her estranged husband, Craig. Her car remains in the attached garage of the Plainfield home and neither her cell phone nor credit cards have been used since her disappearance.

"It's unnerving," Jimmy John's general manager Lydia Atkinson said of Stebic's disappearance. "Maybe if we kept her here a little longer," she added, leaving a lot unsaid.

Police say they took some items into custody, but will not specify what those items are.

Craig Stebic tells WBBM that Plainfield police came to the family home in the middle of the night...performed a search...and took a few items. He says they took "blankets and stuff."

“We need to focus part of our investigation on the fact that she may not have voluntarily disappeared,” Police Chief Don Bennet said. Although investigators are considering the possibility that Lisa Stebic’s disappearance was not voluntary, Bennett said they have no hard evidence of foul play.

Lisa Stebic has been missing for two weeks. She was last seen by her husband. He says she went out. She took her cell-phone and credit cards, which have not been used since.

Plainfield Police are being assisted in their investigation by the FBI. At this point they say they have no suspects and no persons of interest.

Craig Stebic has reportedly cooperated with investigators but has refused to submit to a polygraph test, he says, on the advice of his lawyer.

Lisa Stebic's family and friends hope another package of events this weekend will deliver new information on her whereabouts.

More than 400 volunteers spent Saturday combing Plainfield for Stebic, who was last seen April 30 at her home on Red Star Drive. On Sunday, they distributed hundreds of carnations affixed with her photo and a hot line number to businesses throughout the area.

But the effort failed to produce new clues. Melanie Greenberg, who is married to Stebic's cousin, Mark Greenberg of Naperville, said another campaign to circulate her photo is planned so that no stone is left unturned.

"I'm going to feel like we have done absolutely everything we could do," said Melanie Greenberg, who has acted as the family's spokesperson.

A neighbor reported the mother of two missing the morning of May 1. Stebic is in the midst of a divorce from her husband, Craig Stebic, who says he last saw her at their home around 6 p.m. the evening before

DIMOND: April 30th was the last time that she was seen. And she works at a school cafeteria, so she reported for work that day. They saw her. Her husband is the last one that says he saw her late in the afternoon on April 30. He said that she normally would leave in the evening to go do exercise, come back 10:30 or 11:00. She was never seen again. Her cell phone, her credit cards, they haven`t been used since that April 30th date.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIMOND: Welcome back. I`m Diane Dimond, in for Nancy Grace.

Well, Mother`s Day came and went. They were hoping for a miracle, some way, somehow, to find missing mom Lisa Stebic. She left home presumably for a jog, left her two children behind, and her soon-to-be ex- husband, and has not been seen since. No suspects, no evidence, no leads, a terrible tragedy for that entire community.

Michele Fiore is a local radio reporter there with WBBM Newsradio. Michele, I know you spoke to the chief of police today. Still, no leads, no suspects?

MICHELE FIORE, REPORTER: I did. I talked to Chief Don Bennett this afternoon, and he told me that today detectives spent time just trying to tie up some loose ends over here. The tips do keep coming in, he says, especially since Lisa`s story has gone nationwide. You may recall that divers took some time last week searching a couple of retention ponds near the Stebic home, but they found nothing.

Today, they went out. I should say that the visibility was reported as zero, but that police did a very thorough search despite that difficulty. Chief Bennett says, though, that they have no plans to be back out in the water. When I talked to him today, he also spoke about the children, the 10- and 12-year-old children of the Stebics, and he tells me that police have not had contact with those kids since the day that Lisa went missing.

Now, at that time, the children were reporting that they did see their mom after school, as was typical for them. Mom would get home first from work. Dad got home later. And that`s it. Police do still want to talk to the kids again.

However, now that Craig Stebic is using an attorney in all this, everything police do has to go through Craig Stebic`s attorney. So Chief Bennett told me they did put in a request to have the children go over to the Will County advocacy center. Police say that they actually made that request several days ago, and even at that time were offering dates at which the kids could go there to be interviewed by somebody other than the Plainfield police. But Chief Bennett said that, so far, Craig Stebic`s attorney has not given the go-ahead on this issue.

DIMOND: Now, see, this is bizarre to me, to Michelle Fiore, of WBBM radio, because he`s a divorce lawyer. He`s not a criminal lawyer.

FIORE: Yes.

DIMOND: This seems just so strange.

Let`s bring in Melanie Greenberg. She is a cousin of the missing woman and has been very active in the search for her.

Thanks a lot for being with us, Ms. Greenberg. Now, there was a huge search this weekend. I want to talk to you about that. But first, I really want to talk about the children. Have you seen them? Do you think they might know more than they`ve been able to tell police?

MELANIE GREENBERG, LISA STEBIC`S COUSIN: You know, I don`t know if they know anything more. I do understand that they did see their mom that Monday, April 30th, after school. I last saw Lisa`s daughter on Friday, and the children did spend a lot of time with Lisa`s family this weekend, with Mother`s Day. Because of the massive search on Saturday, it was thought best to get the children out of Plainfield for a while.

On Saturday, we had over 150 emergency personnel searching, as well as over 275 volunteer searchers fanning out all over Plainfield. And the family just want to express our profound gratitude to all of those volunteers that came out, to take time out of their Mother`s Day weekend to help search for Lisa.

DIMOND: And you know, Melanie, actually, we`re hearing reports that it may be as many as 400 people were there. Let`s go to the phones, lots of calls on this. We`ll try to get a couple in.

Michelle from New Mexico is calling. Hi, Michelle.

CALLER: Hi, how are you?

DIMOND: I`m great. And I`m from New Mexico, so I`m glad to hear from you.

CALLER: Oh, thank you.

DIMOND: What`s your question?

CALLER: I`m wondering if they searched the house. If he was the last one to see her, maybe she`s still in that house.

DIMOND: Oh, that`s a good question. Ed Miller is with "America`s Most Wanted." And he`s been on this case from the very beginning. He does lots of cases like this. Ed, what do you know about that? Have they searched inside that house?

ED MILLER, REPORTER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Well, they have searched inside the house, but my sources tell me that, as of now, this investigation is severely hindered because of the husband. In other words, they did a very quick search in the very beginning. They did speak to the children in the very beginning, as well as they did speak to the husband, Craig, in the very beginning.

But as you well know, in any investigation, they do follow-up questions. And the husband is not cooperating. Through his attorney, he says he is cooperating, but that`s not really the definition that police believe cooperation is.

In other words, if you really are looking for your wife, whether or not you`re getting divorced -- that is the mother of your children -- you would say, "Sure, come on in. What can I do to help? Ask me anything."

DIMOND: Absolutely.

MILLER: And, of course, he`s not doing that. He`s saying, well, let`s see when we can set up a date that`s mutually acceptable to all of us. The key thing here is -- and we investigated this last weekend, made it public -- that Dad gave the kids money to go buy candy at the store. So there was a time there when no one was in the house. The children were out of the house, and only Mom and Dad were home alone.

DIMOND: So there was opportunity.

MILLER: That`s right. The kids come back from the store, and Mom is gone. What happened to her, we don`t know.

DIMOND: And not only that, Ed, but this man, you know, the whereabouts of his wife is unknown, and he is going along with his defense attorney to, a, not do a polygraph test, and, b, go into court and claim full custody when his wife may be lying -- soon-to-be ex-wife may be lying hurt or even worse somewhere.

His attorney is Dion Davi, and he put forth a statement to us today. "All courses of action that I have taken have been in the best interest of my client and his children. We have in no way intended or hampered the investigation that the police are conducting," he says. "With the exception of the polygraph, all requests made by the Plainfield Police Department have been met or in the process of being met. We intend to fully cooperate and assist in any way possible with the investigation."

Melanie Greenberg, does your family think he is being upfront here? Do you all suspect him?

GREENBERG: Well, you know, I don`t want to speculate on anything that`s going to impede the police investigation. But Lisa`s family -- you know, I just don`t know if Craig is getting the very best legal advice. As you pointed out, this is a divorce attorney. And we would just urge Craig to take the polygraph, to answer any follow-up questions that the police department may have.

DIMOND: Because he`s not a suspect. He`s not been named as a person of interest. So why not cooperate? That`s what you`re saying.

GREENBERG: It`s been two weeks today. Today is two weeks that Lisa has gone missing. And I can`t imagine what is more urgent than that.

DIMOND: Right.

GREENBERG: You know, we would like -- you know, if there`s any further information that he might be able to give the Plainfield police that might assist them in their investigation.

DIMOND: Our hearts just go out to you, Melanie. I wish we had more time.

GREENBERG: Thank you.

DIMOND: Thirty seconds, Pat Brown, the FBI`s involved. What kind of perpetrator have they profiled, Pat?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I`m guessing they`re looking very heavily at that husband, because, who else is there to look at, at this point? You know, this man, if he were innocent, he would be not doing if he`s doing. If he was innocent, there would be no physical evidence in his house, no physical evidence in his car, no physical evidence anywhere near him. So what`s his problem?

DIMOND: So open the doors, and let the sunshine in.

BROWN: Absolutely.

DIMOND: That`s it for me tonight. I`m Diane Dimond, sitting in tonight for Nancy Grace. She`ll continue to watch the missing mother of two, day 14. How many more days? And we`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DIMOND: Well, Lisa Stebic, suburban Chicago housewife, still missing. I want to go to our guest, Andrea Macari. First of all, actually, let me go to Holly Hughes. Holly, you`re the prosecutor here. Is there any way to force access to her two children so police can question them? They may have crucial information.

HUGHES: Absolutely, there is a way to do it. I don`t understand why the husband wouldn`t just allow access. But if he is refusing access to those children, they can have a guardian ad litem appointed by the court who is going to operate in the best interests of the children, and that guardian can be there and be present while those children are, in fact, questioned.

DIMOND: Yes, I wonder actually why that hasn`t been done. It has been 14 days so far.

Now, to Andrea Macari, she is a clinical psychotherapist. Let me ask you, Andrea, these children, let`s hope for their sake that the worst has not happened here, but even if Mom does come home sometime, this is going to affect them for the rest of their lives.

MACARI: Absolutely. Oh, my gosh. Imagine the sense of betrayal and confusion and guilt they must be experiencing. And, you know, 10 million American kids each year are witnesses to domestic violence. We can only wonder what they might have seen before.

By Jo Napolitano, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter Hal Dardick contributed to this report
Published May 16, 2007
Police spent 4 1/2 hours beginning late Monday night searching the house where a missing Plainfield woman lived with her husband, sparking complaints from his attorney that it was meant to intimidate his client.

Lisa Stebic, a mother of two, was last seen April 30 by her husband, Craig. The couple were getting a divorce but continued to share a spacious home in the 13200 block of Red Star Drive.

Police on Tuesday impounded Craig Stebic's two vehicles, a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck and a 2004 Saturn Ion, as part of the search. Attorney Dion Davi said police are trying to coerce a confession.

"I think the strategy was to put as much stress on him and on his family as possible," Davi said. "I believe the investigation is such that they are not able to uncover any leads and are just grasping at straws."

Davi said the two children had to sleep outside in one of the family vehicles while the search was under way. The 10-year-old son was so traumatized he didn't attend school Tuesday, the attorney said.

Davi has asked police for a complete inventory of what was taken from the house and for an explanation of the "probable cause" necessary to obtain the warrant. He said the family now has no functional vehicle because a truck left behind doesn't work.

He said police keep telling Stebic he is not a suspect.

The Joliet Police Department's Special Operations Squad and the FBI Evidence Response Team assisted in the search, which began at 11:45 p.m. Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow, said the warrant was under court seal.

POLICE AND FBI RAID STEBIC HOME
WITH NO SUSPECTS IN THE CASE OF THE MISSING PLAINFIELD MOTHER ...

May 16, 2007
By JANET LUNDQUIST Staff Writer
PLAINFIELD -- While police say they have no suspects in the disappearance of a local mother of two, her husband's attorney believes a midnight search of her house was an attempt to intimidate her husband and coerce a confession.

For the first time Tuesday, investigators said they are expanding their search for Lisa Stebic to include the possibility of foul play -- and served early-morning search warrants at the Stebic house as the next step in the investigation.

» Click to enlarge image

A poster with the picture of Lisa Stebic, who is missing, hangs from a light pole Tuesday morning near her Plainfield home on Red Star Drive. Plainfield police searched the home and impounded two vehicles early Tuesday.
(STEVEN BUYANSKY/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

RELATED STORIES
• Lisa memorial removed
• Web site: Find Lisa Stebic
• Photos: Missing mom
Lisa Stebic, 37, was reported missing May 1. Police say there has been no activity on her cell phone or credit cards since April 30, when she was last seen at home about 6 p.m.

"We need to focus part of our investigation on the fact that she may not have voluntarily disappeared," said Police Chief Don Bennett.

Although investigators are considering that possibility, Bennett said they have no hard evidence of foul play.

Plainfield police, an FBI evidence response team and a special operations unit from the Joliet Police Department searched the house at 13244 Red Star Drive, and the Stebics' vehicles early Tuesday morning.

Craig Stebic's attorney Dion Davi said Stebic was not allowed to call him during the search, which police said lasted about four and a half hours. Bennett said Stebic was offered the chance to call his attorney and declined.

Stebic was cooperative and let officers in to conduct the search, police said. During the search, Stebic stayed in a room with officers while his two children were in a car outside with female officers, police said.

"They say he's not a suspect. They say he's not a person of interest. But they come in the middle of the night, take the kids out of their sleep and force them to sleep in a car while they search for hours," said Davi, who said he learned of the search when Stebic called him about 6 a.m. Tuesday.

A poster with the picture of Lisa Stebic, who is missing, hangs from a light pole Tuesday morning near her Plainfield home on Red Star Drive. Plainfield police searched the home and impounded two vehicles early Tuesday.
(STEVEN BUYANSKY/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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• Police, FBI raid Stebic home
• Photos: Missing mom
On May 9, Stebic filed the emergency motion for custody of the kids, ages 10 and 12. His attorney Dion Davi said the motion was an attempt to protect Craig in case Lisa returned, took the children and disappeared again.

May 16, 2007
By Paige Winfield Staff Writer
After they spent the weekend with relatives, the children of a missing Plainfield woman were back home Monday night when police searched the family's house around midnight.

Lisa Stebic, mother of 12-year-old Lexi and 10-year-old Zach, has been missing since April 30.

RELATED STORIES
• Post a comment: Potluck blog
• Police obtain warrant, search Stebic's house
Two female officers watched over the children in the back of a squad car while authorities searched the home, neighbors said.

Mark Eiting, deputy chief of police for the Plainfield Police Department, said officers made sure the children did not observe the search.

"We are always sensitive to the children," he said.

Amid the media attention surrounding Lisa's disappearance, relatives have tried to keep the children's lives as normal as possible, said Melanie Greenberg of Naperville, who is married to Stebic's cousin, Mark Greenberg.

Other than attending a candlelight vigil for Lisa last Wednesday, the children have been in the house with their father, Craig, when they are not at school. Greenberg said Craig has been shielding them from viewing the extensive media coverage of their missing mother.

Anxiety, abandonment
As Lexi and Zach deal with the anxiety and stress of separation from their mother, it is crucial to shelter them from media attention, said Fatima Ali, a psychiatrist with DuPage Mental Health Services.
"At that age, you are not feeling comfortable with your own emotions," she said. "So media coming to them repeatedly can traumatize them."

But Ali said it is equally important that family members are honest with the children.

When preteen children encounter traumatic situations, two of the most common emotions are feelings of anxiety and abandonment, Ali said. Even though Lexi and Zach can understand that their mother probably didn't leave voluntarily, she said, they may feel betrayed and begin to worry about losing another loved one.

Custody hearing set
Since Lisa vanished, Greenberg and other relatives have repeatedly described her as a devoted and loving mother, saying she would never voluntarily leave her children.
But when Craig filed for temporary custody of the children last week, he made a move that has left Lisa's family members puzzled.

Mark Greenberg, who is an attorney, said the move makes no sense, since Craig already has custody of the children.

Craig's emergency motion for temporary custody is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday in Will County Circuit Court.

While none of Lisa's family members are currently seeking custody of the children, Melanie Greenberg said they would all be willing to care for Lexi and Zach if needed.

"Any member of Lisa's family would be willing to take the children," she said.

Friends: Lisa Stebic said husband threatened her
But family says he would never hurt his wife
By Paige Winfield and Kate R. Houlihan staff writers
More revelations of a deeply troubled and broken marriage emerged Wednesday as the bizarre case of a missing Plainfield mother of two entered its ninth day.

Lisa Stebic, 37, was four months into a bitter divorce with her husband, Craig, 41, when she disappeared April 30. She left her car behind in the garage with no trace of cell phone or credit card activity since, police said.

» Click to enlarge image

The family of Lisa Stebic (left) is planning to hold a vigil Saturday in honor of her birthday. Her husband, Craig, and son, Zac, are shown here at a vigil held last week.
(Kate Szrom / Staff photographer)

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• 'Never just get up and leave'
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Police say they have no leads and no suspects in her disappearance as of Wednesday.

But several friends have reported concern. They say Lisa told them Craig threatened on several occasions he would kill her and nobody would find her.

"I've heard her say, 'If anything ever happened to me, look towards Craig,'" said Amer Zegar, who, along with his wife, hosted Lisa and her two children at his home several times since January. "I don't want to blame someone who's innocent. (But) we're scared, we really are."

Family members have said the allegations surprised them and that Craig would never hurt his wife.

But Zegar said that, during her visits, Lisa spoke of receiving verbal abuse from her husband and expressed fear of him and his threats.

"(Craig) always said,

'You'll never get nothing, you'll disappear,'" he said.

Zegar and his wife, who declined to be named, said Lisa had been receiving counseling from the Guardian Angel Home in Joliet - a nonprofit organization that provides services for victims of domestic violence and rape.

While not confirming that Lisa is a client of the home, Chief Executive Officer Shelia Schmitz said the organization has been cooperating with the Plainfield Police in their investigation.

"I know her family has come here, and police have come here," Schmitz said.

Craig disagreed with reports that his wife was afraid of him and that she had received counseling at the shelter, speaking Tuesday with the Naperville Sun's partner the Joliet Herald News.

"Why would she still be living here?" he said. "If she was so afraid, why would she leave her kids here?"

May 16, 2007
BY TIM WALDORFStaff Writer
The makeshift Lisa Stebic memorial in the Plainfield Park District gazebo behind her home is gone.

Kim Young, who supervised the missing 37-year-old mother of two in the lunchroom at Lincoln Elementary School, said Park District employees on Monday tried to trash it.

» Click to enlarge image

Police officers and FBI agents searched the Stebics' house and the vehicles about midnight.
(AP/Sun file photo)

» Click to enlarge image

RELATED STORIES
• Post a comment: Potluck blog
• Police obtain warrant, search Stebic's house
However, Plainfield Park District officials insist their maintenance workers had nothing to do with its disappearance.

"I can guarantee you the Park District isn't in that business," said Gene Goldwater, Plainfield Park District's superintendent of parks. "We just wouldn't do that."

Young, Stebic's supervisor at Sodexho, said that at 2:30 p.m. Monday she stopped by the park in Norman Greenway, just behind the Stebics' residence near the intersection of Blakely and Red Star drives and was shocked by what she saw.

"This man was piling up the little animals and the figurines into a trash bag and stuffing them down, and I'm like, 'What are you doing?'" Young said. "He's like, 'My boss! My boss! My boss tell me to clean up! Clean everything up!' And I go, 'This is a memorial.' He said, 'No, this is trash. You need to clear out the trash.'"

The man told Young he worked for the Plainfield Park District and he was wearing a Park District uniform and driving a Park District truck, she said.

"Oh yeah, he was in a marked truck and everything," she said. "I said, 'Who is your boss?' and he wouldn't tell me."

By Jo Napolitano, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter Hal Dardick contributed to this report
Published May 16, 2007
Police spent 4 1/2 hours beginning late Monday night searching the house where a missing Plainfield woman lived with her husband, sparking complaints from his attorney that it was meant to intimidate his client.

Lisa Stebic, a mother of two, was last seen April 30 by her husband, Craig. The couple were getting a divorce but continued to share a spacious home in the 13200 block of Red Star Drive

Police on Tuesday impounded Craig Stebic's two vehicles, a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck and a 2004 Saturn Ion, as part of the search. Attorney Dion Davi said police are trying to coerce a confession.

"I think the strategy was to put as much stress on him and on his family as possible," Davi said. "I believe the investigation is such that they are not able to uncover any leads and are just grasping at straws."

Davi said the two children had to sleep outside in one of the family vehicles while the search was under way. The 10-year-old son was so traumatized he didn't attend school Tuesday, the attorney said.

Davi has asked police for a complete inventory of what was taken from the house and for an explanation of the "probable cause" necessary to obtain the warrant. He said the family now has no functional vehicle because a truck left behind doesn't work.

May 16, 2007
By JANET LUNDQUIST Staff Writer
JOLIET --The day she disappeared, Lisa Stebic mailed a petition to oust her
husband from their home while their divorce was pending so she and her
children could "live in peace."
Signed on the last page in neat cursive, Lisa Stebic's petition for
temporary eviction of her spouse, Craig, states he was being "unnecessarily
relentless, cruel, inconsiderate, domineering and verbally abusive." His
behavior was "jeopardizing the mental well-being" of their children, she
said.
She felt his verbal abuse was affecting her mental and physical well-being,
according to her petition.
That petition was included in a motion filed Wednesday by Lisa Stebic¹s
attorney, Glenn Kahn, as a response to Craig Stebic's motion for temporary
custody of the couple's two children.
Lisa Stebic, 37, was last seen about 6 p.m. April 30 at her Red Star Drive
home. She was reported missing May 1 by a neighbor.

Did Craig know about petition?

» Click to enlarge image

The attorney for Lisa Stebic (left) said he doesn't know whether her husband Craig Stebic (right) knew of Lisa's plans to file papers with the courts seeking his eviction from their Plainfield home.

(STAFF FILE PHOTO)
Because the petition was received after Lisa was reported missing, it was
never filed in court, Kahn said.
The law office typed up the petition and gave it to Lisa to sign and return
before her disappearance, he said. He did not know whether Craig Stebic knew
Lisa planned to sign and mail the petition.
"That's the million dollar question," Kahn said. "It's quite possible he
did, it's possible he didn't as well. She did have it at the house."
Craig Stebic's attorney, Dion Davi, said as far as he knew Craig did not
know Lisa was mailing the petition.
Davi, who said he saw Lisa's petition for the first time Wednesday, said it
did not contain any specific allegations. Other than the police responding
to their house in December for an argument, Davi said he had no indication
that the couple had a problem living in the same house.
"We don¹t know if Lisa truly intended to file this petition," Davi said.
He said he does not think the petition will hurt Craig's chances of
obtaining temporary custody of his kids.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, breaking news. Day 16, a young mother of two who reportedly goes for a jog, then never heard from again. Tonight we learn Lisa Stebic disappears just hours after mailing court papers to evict her husband, the two still living under the same roof. And tonight, for the first time, police refuse to rule out foul play. And further developments. Police swoop in for a late-night search, a five-hour search on Stebic`s home, seizing both family cars.
And tonight: A beautiful 4-year-old baby girl on a luxury resort vacation with her entire family vanishes from her own bedroom after parents leave the children alone to attend a dinner party. Tonight, the reward climbing to over $5 million to find baby Maddy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last Thursday evening, a little girl called Maddy was taken from the family hotel room. As I`m sure you understand, we need to do everything possible to help the police with their inquiries in finding her. If you have seen this little girl, please could you go to your local authorities or police and give any information that you have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is very nearly two weeks now since Madeleine McCann was abducted from her family`s holiday apartment. In that time, police have searched hundreds of properties. The latest development, a block of apartments in this resort has tonight been sealed off. There have been in those two weeks been leads and suspects, the most high-profile of them Robert Murat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robert Murat`s house is still under police guard. Police tape still marks the outer limits of his garden and the driveway here. But police have been very clear they don`t have enough evidence even to continue questioning Robert Murat, let alone arrest him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police have been seen working at another property.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The inquiry appears to have moved quite quickly over the last three days, but the hours must tick by very slowly for the McCann family because Madeleine is still not here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First, to upscale Chicago suburbs and the mystery of missing mom Lisa Stebic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Plainfield Police Department obtained and executed a search warrant at the home of Lisa Stebic, who has been missing since April 30.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The photos are somewhat grainy, an eerie shade of yellow, taken with a special low-light attachment. What they show is eerie, too -- highly specialized police units, including members of the Joliet Police Department`s special operations squad, the FBI`s evidence response team, some in SWAT gear, moving in on the quaint suburban home Lisa Stebic once shared with her husband and two children. The pictures show forensic technicians entering and police impounding Lisa`s car and her husband`s truck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what were you able to recover?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re not discussing what items were discovered at the residence or in the vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deputy Chief Eiting says a neighbor reported Lisa missing and that she was last seen by her husband, Craig, in their Plainfield home 15 days ago. The Stebics were in the process of getting a divorce and lived in the home with their two children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Where is missing mom Lisa Stebic? Tonight, the plot seems to thicken. It is revealed that the very day, just hours, in fact, before she goes missing, she had mailed formal court documents back to her lawyer asking her husband to be evicted from the family home, the two in a bizarre living situation much like "War of the Roses," two of them while seeking a divorce living under the same roof. Nothing good can come of that.

Out to Michelle Fiore with WBBM Newsradio. What`s the latest?

MICHELLE FIORE, WBBM NEWSRADIO: Well, I talked with Glenn Khan just this evening, and he tells me that the situation in the divorce had become tense, tense enough to the fact that the -- to the point to where Lisa was wanting to have her husband removed from the home. She had told her attorney that it didn`t feel comfortable in the house anymore, that he was both verbally abusive to her alone when she was only in the house, and even in front of the children, as well, that he was intimidating to her, and that she thought it would be best for not only herself but also for the sake of the two children that he be removed from the house.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Plainfield Police Department obtained and executed a search warrant at the home of Lisa Stebic, who has been missing since April 30. Plainfield police, with the help of the Joliet Police Department and the FBI, started the search last night at midnight and spent approximately four-and-a-half hours at the residence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The photos are somewhat grainy, an eerie shade of yellow, taken with a special low-light attachment. What they show is eerie, too -- highly specialized police units, including members of the Joliet Police Department`s special operations squad, the FBI`s evidence response team, some in SWAT gear, moving in on the quaint suburban home Lisa Stebic once shared with her husband and two children. The pictures show forensic technicians entering and police impounding Lisa`s car and her husband`s truck.

Lisa left here on April 30 with her cell phone and her wallet and has not been seen since. The phone and credit cards were never used again. Lisa and her husband shared a home with their kids, even though they were going through a divorce. Craig Stebic still lives there with the couple`s children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: He must have a sinus condition because I`m not seeing any tears. I assume that was at one of the vigils. Let me reiterate that the husband, Mr. Stebic, has not been named a suspect.

I have in my hands the court documents. We didn`t even know that Lisa Stebic was asking to have her husband evicted from the family home, these papers filed -- mailed by her to her lawyer. Within hours, she was missing. And what`s so interesting is I`m looking at this -- and to you, Jean Casarez -- it says, "Husband`s behavior toward Lisa alone and in front of the children is unnecessarily relentless, cruel, inconsiderate, domineering, verbally abusive, jeopardizing Lisa`s mental and physical well-being." And this is what disturbed me. "As a result of his disruptive behavior," according to her, "police intervention has been required to diffuse the situation."

LISA WANTED HUSBAND OUT
ATTORNEYS GOT THE LETTER AFTER SHE VANISHED, BUT ON THE DAY SHE DID ...

May 17, 2007
By JANET LUNDQUIST Staff Writer
JOLIET -- The day she disappeared, Lisa Stebic mailed a petition to oust her husband from their home while their divorce was pending so she and her children could "live in peace."

Signed on the last page in neat cursive, Lisa Stebic's petition for temporary eviction of her spouse, Craig, states he was being "unnecessarily relentless, cruel, inconsiderate, domineering and verbally abusive." His behavior was "jeopardizing the mental well-being" of their children, she said.

» Click to enlarge image

The attorney for Lisa Stebic Said he doesn't know whether her husband, Craig Stebic (right), knew of Lisa's plans to have Craig evicted from their Plainfield home (left) before she disappeared April 30.
(STAFF FILE PHOTOS)

RELATED STORIES
• Photos: The Stebic story
She felt his verbal abuse was affecting her mental and physical well-being, according to her petition.

That petition was included in a motion filed Wednesday by Lisa Stebic's attorney, Glenn Kahn, as a response to Craig Stebic's motion for temporary custody of the couple's two children.

Lisa Stebic, 37, was last seen about 6 p.m. April 30 at her Red Star Drive home. She was reported missing May 1 by a neighbor.

Did Craig know about petition?
Because the petition was received after Lisa was reported missing, it was never filed in court, Kahn said.
The law office typed up the petition and gave it to Lisa to sign and return before her disappearance, he said. He did not know whether Craig Stebic knew Lisa planned to sign and mail the petition.

"That's the million dollar question," Kahn said. "It's quite possible he did, it's possible he didn't as well. She did have it at the house."

Lisa Stebic Case - Lisa Stebic, a wife and mother of two from Plainfield, tried to have her "verbally abusive" husband Craig Stebic evicted the same day she went missing. Craig, who is not a suspect, seems to have more than one sign pointing the finger at him, and while he may or may not have participated in his wife's disappearance, it's certainly worth considering.

Lisa, who has been missing since April 30th (07), was trying to kick her husband out of their home the same day she mysteriously disappeared. Stebic's attorney released a petition she filed to have her husband evicted in the midst of their pending divorce, in which she described Craig as "unnecessarily relentless, cruel, inconsiderate, domineering and verbally abusive."

She also wrote that his behavior was "jeopardizing the mental well-being" of their children, and she felt that if he left, their children could "live in peace." It is unclear as to whether or not Craig was 'aware' of the petition.

Lisa Stebic went missing on April 30th, on what seemed to be a typical day for the mom. She worked in the Lincoln Elementary School cafeteria in the afternoon, where friends say she seemed completely normal. She left the school around 2:30pm as usual, where she would then proceed to either run errands, or go home. She always picked up her 10-year-old son Zach from Walker's Grove Elementary School at 3:30, but it is unconfirmed as to whether or not Lisa was the one to pick up Zach the day of her disappearance.

According to Lisa's friends, Lisa almost always made sure she was with her children at home until Craig would get home from work in the evening.

The police claim 10-year-old Zach and 12-year-old Lexi went to a nearby Walgreens between 6 and 7:00pm for some candy, about the same time Craig says he last saw his wife.